Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Bilateral talks
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will pay an official visit to Russia on Friday September 28. During his visit, Zapatero will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and the development of tourism.
US Navy combat ships
Pacific Eagle-2007
Two US Navy combat ships have arrived in the port of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East to participate in joint manoeuvres with the Russian Navy. The exercises, dubbed Pacific Eagle-2007, will be held on Friday and Saturday and will include mine-sweeping and anti-submarine operations, an interception of a vessel trespassing territorial waters and a sea-rescue operation.
India
IPI talks
Iran, Pakistan and India will launch a new round of talks on the building of a huge pipeline project to carry Iran's natural gas to India via Pakistan. Negotiations on the completion of IPI gas pipeline project dubbed “Peace Pipeline” will be held in Tehran on September 27. Negotiations will continue, if necessary, on Saturday.
Paul Biya
Re-runs
Cameroon's President Paul Biya has convened re-runs in five constituencies. In a presidential decree made public on August 29, the re-runs will take place on Sunday. The court's decision cancelling elections in the aforementioned constituencies was prompted by the huge fraud and irregularities that characterised the July 22 polls.
MEPs
Parliamentary election
A 14-strong delegation of MEPs will be in Ukraine to observe the parliamentary election there on Sunday.
Juozas Olekas
Security issues
Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas will pay an official visit to Baku on Tuesday. The visit will take place at the invitation of Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev. Development of bilateral relations, integration to NATO, energy security and other issues will be debated in the meeting of the two ministers.
Erik Prince
Mission update
Erik Prince, the Chairman of the Prince Group and Blackwater USA, has been asked to testify before the Oversight Committee on Tuesday regarding the mission and performance of Blackwater and its affiliated companies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Helen Clark
Top-level talks
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark plans to hold top-level talks in Britain, France and the European Union headquarters in Brussels this week. She plans to start her visit by meeting former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday. Clark plans to hold talks with Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, on Tuesday and go to Brussels the next day for meetings with European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso.
Propaganda spectacle
A show and a summit
North Korea said on Monday it has resumed its massive propaganda spectacles. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun may watch a show during this week's summit with the North's leader Kim Jong II.
Zurab Noghaideli
Business forum
The Georgian prime minister, Zurab Noghaideli, is scheduled to visit Azerbaijan. He is due to meet the president, Ilham Aliyev, and will attend a Georgian-Azerbaijani business forum.
Visegrad meeting
Four-party talks
A meeting of the ministers of culture of the Visegrad countries is scheduled to take place in Bratislava. Ministers from the four Visegrad countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are due to attend. The Visegrad Group was set up in 1991 as part of efforts by countries of Central Europe to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration.
Delegates
Six-party talks
The next round of six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programme are scheduled to resume in Beijing.
Dinner
Table for one?
The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is scheduled to host a fast-breaking dinner, or iftar, in New York. The iftar is being hosted by the Turkish Cultural Centre, and invitations have also been sent to world stars like Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lopez and Tim Robbins, although there has been no confirmation that they will attend.
David Miliband
Assembly address
The UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The General Assembly attracts senior leaders from countries around the world to deliver speeches.
George Bush
Major economies meeting
US President George Bush is scheduled to deliver remarks at the major economies meeting on energy security and climate change on Wednesday.
Walter Steinmann
Energy cooperation
The director of Swiss federal office of energy, Walter Steinmann, is scheduled to visit Azerbaijan. An energy cooperation memorandum is expected to be signed between the two countries during the minister's stay.
Trilateral Commission
Seaside meeting
The North American regional meeting of the Trilateral Commission is scheduled to take place in Cancun, Mexico.
Donald Tusk
Rounding up votes
The leader of Poland's main opposition party, Donald Tusk, is scheduled to begin a visit to the UK and Ireland. The Civic Platform leader is aiming to win support from Polish emigrants in the two countries ahead of the parliamentary election on October 21.
Desmond Tutu
Mediating in Darfur
The Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu and other leaders are scheduled to visit Sudan. They are to visit Khartoum on mission aimed at finding a solution to the Darfur conflict.
Farmers
Deadline approaches
The deadline for Zimbabwe's last white farmers to leave their land is scheduled to end as their eviction orders expire this weekend. The remaining 400 farmers were due to have left their farms on February 4 2007, but news reports say that the ministry of lands, land reform and resettlement had extended the deadline to allow farmers to stay through the August harvest.
Russia
Georgia tension
The agreed deadline by which Russia is to leave the military bases at Akhalkalaki and Batumi in Georgia is due to expire. The base in Batumi, on the Black Sea coast, is a source of great tension between Georgia and Russia, and Tbilisi has threatened to block access to the facility.
Alan Greenspan
New book
The LSE is scheduled to hold an event: 'Alan Greenspan in conversation with Howard Davies'. The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board will reflect on his experiences during a remarkable career and discuss the current economic climate and outlook for the world economy. The discussion will also mark the publication of Greenspan's new book, 'The Age of Turbulence'.
Ehud Barak
Defence talks
An Israeli defence delegation is scheduled to visit India. The delegation is due to be led by Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, and will consist of 16 other high-level members. Barak will meet his Indian counterpart, and discussions will centre on project designs for helicopters and gunships.
Wolfgang Schäuble
Address in London
The German federal minister of the interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, is scheduled to give an address at a joint the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Policy Exchange event. Minister Schäuble will present his analysis of the current domestic and international security agenda, and discuss how the need for effective anti-terrorism measures can be balanced against the need to protect our civil liberties.
EU
Eliminating trade barriers
A high-level meeting between India and the European Union will be held in New Delhi from Monday on the comprehensive economic agreement which aims at eliminating trade barriers to enhance commerce between the two.
Benazir Bhutto
Battle plans?
Pakistan People’s Party Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto has called a meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the party on Wednesday in London. The meeting has been called to chalk out party’s strategy with special focus on Bhutto’s announced return on October 18.
Nicolas Sarkozy
Sarko in Sofia
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia Sarkozy will make an official visit to Bulgaria on Thursday on the invitation of Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov. Sarkozy's programme will include meetings with Purvanov, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and a lecture at Sofia University.
Stockmarket
Open for business?
Many investors believe the Chinese government will allow its citizens to trade Hong Kong stocks first week of October. Last month, China said it will allow its citizens to buy and sell shares in Hong Kong on a trial basis.
Angela Merkel
Investment opportunity
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will arrive in South Africa on Thursday and is scheduled to hold discussions with President Thabo Mbeki on Friday. South Africa is looking at attracting investment from some of the smaller and medium sized German companies that are not yet part of its economy.
Soldiers
Anti-terrorism exercise
A joint anti-terrorism exercise involving the special services of the CIS countries is concluding in Kazakhkstan. Units from the eleven former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are taking part in Baykonur-Antiterror 2007, which takes place at the Baykonur cosmodrome.
Nobuo Yamaguchi
Investment opportunities
A delegation of Japanese businessmen is scheduled to visit Ankara and Istanbul. The delegation is led by Nobuo Yamaguchi, the chairman of the Japanese chamber of trade and industry. The delegation is expected to explore possible investment opportunities and take part in discussions with their Turkish counterparts.
